South African Industry Positioned to Meet Iraq’s Defence Requirements

South African companies have been invited to engage with Iraq to meet its defence requirements with the Middle Eastern country due to host its annual defence exhibition in March next year in which South Africa could participate.

The South African Aerospace, Maritime and Defence Export Council (SAAMDEC) has been invited to engage with Iraqi government on the possibility of doing defence and security business and has been furnished with a list of requirements.

These include naval equipment, small arms, uniforms, ammunition, electro-optical equipment, less-lethal weapons, electronic warfare equipment, communications and radios, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), CCTV cameras, data centres, and forensic equipment.

This includes armament and equipment for its anti-terrorism forces and police.

Iraq also requires the modernisation and maintenance of equipment and weapons, road construction, staff training and training equipment, logistics support, rescue equipment, power/electrical systems.

It also has an interest in intelligence and cybersecurity.

SAAMDEC has agreed with the Iraqi Ministry of Defence (MOD) that interested South African companies can visit Iraq prior to the defence exhibition in order to engage the MOD.

The Iraqi Government has budgeted $2.5 billion for defence acquisition in 2020. To further this, it will be holding the eighth annual International Defence Exhibition in Iraq (IQDEX 2020), in Baghdad between 7 and 10 March next year.

The March 2019 edition of IQDEX attracted nearly 4 000 visitors and over 50 companies from 22 countries.

This article was first published by defenceWeb on November 26, 2019.